Emperor & Lovers Social Link
by Reecie Girl
Summary: What if the other characters had social links with each other, instead of just Yu? This is the social link of Kanji Tatsumi and Rise Kujikawa.
1. Rank 1

Kanji sat sprawled out on his couch late one afternoon. He had just finished sewing a small animal for a kid in town and wasn't sure what he wanted to do next. He had more than enough materials to make more, but, with no one to make them for, he didn't seem to have the motivation. Just as he was about to doze off, his mother started calling him from the shop.

"Kanji!" she said. "You have company!"

"What? I do?" Kanji hollered back, surprised. He rarely had company, so he found himself wondering who it might be. He was about to walk out into the shop when Rise walked into the room.

"Hello Kanji!" she said cheerfully.

"Oh! Rise! W-what are you doing here?"

"What? I can't just visit my good friend Kanji?" Rise asked, pouting.

"N-no, of course not. You just...don't." Kanji replied.

"Well, maybe it's about time I started them!" Rise told him, giving him her best idol smile. Kanji sighed. He didn't mind her being there, he was just confused as to why she was. They were in the same class in school and they were at the very least friendly to each other, but that was about it. He couldn't think of any reason why they shouldn't become closer friends, though, so he just decided to roll with it for now.

"OK then." Kanji said. "So...what would you like to do?"

"I was actually hoping you could help me with something." Rise replied.

"So, you do have an ulterior motive..."

"Hey, don't be like that!" Rise protested. "I really want your help!"

"OK, OK!" Kanji said, giving in. "What do you need?"

"I want you to teach me how to fold origami." Rise told him.

"Y-you want me to what!?"

"Teach me origami!"

"Why the hell do you want me to do that?"

"I want to impress Narukami-senpai." Rise said, matter-of-factly.

"And w-what makes you think I know how to fold origami?" Rise made a face at him.

"Come on, Kanji." she said. "I thought you weren't gonna lie about stuff like that anymore. With all of the other craft stuff I know you can do, how could you not know how to fold origami?" Kanji thought for a second. He could just tell her that he really didn't know, but Rise was right. He had promised not to hide and lie about himself anymore.

"OK, fine. I do know how.." he admitted. "But I dunno about teaching anybody...I-I've never done that before..."

"There's a first time for everything!" Rise said happily. "So, what do you say?"

"Sure, why the hell not?" Kanji said after considering for a few moments. If Rise was anything, she was damn persuasive. "You take a seat and I'll be right back. I'm sure I have a beginner's origami book around her somewhere..."

"Thanks Kanji! You're the best!" Rise cheered, taking a seat on the couch.

"Uh-huh," Kanji replied sarcastically. He walked back into his bedroom and began searching for the book. He wasn't entirely sure why he was going along with Rise's little scheme. Maybe he was happy to finally use his skills for something useful instead of just as fuel for his torment. Maybe the fact that Rise of all people seemed to accept him for it surprised him so much that he had to go along with it. Whatever the reason was, he was roped into it now. It might even end up being fun in the long run. So Kanji finally dug out his old origami book and headed back into the living room to give Rise her first lesson.

Kanji and Rise feel a faint bond forming between them…


	2. Rank 2

"Damn it!" Rise cursed loudly as she crumpled up the delicate piece of origami paper she held and threw it across the room.

"Hey, keep it down!" Kanji scolded her. "Ma could have customers out there!" The two sat in Kanji's living room, surrounded by bits of origami paper in a variety of colors and patterns.

"Sorry, it's just...Grrr!" Rise growled at the balls of origami paper in front of her. She had been at it for two whole afternoons now and she still couldn't make one swan. And every time she looked over at Kanji's pile of perfectly folded swans it made her even more frustrated. "I just don't get it! How could something be so easy for you and so hard for me?"

"That's just how things are sometimes." Kanji said thoughtfully, adding another swan to his pile. "I can sew and knit and craft; you can sing and dance and act. I can't do any of that stuff. Could you imagine me, standing on stage in front of a bunch of people, doing any of your 'idol' things?" Rise laughed.

"Thanks for that image!" she replied, shoving him in the shoulder. "But, I see what you mean. Maybe I'll never be good at this..." Kanji shook his head.

"That's not what I meant at all. You just gotta practice. You'll catch on eventually." Rise's sour expression didn't brighten at all, causing Kanji to frown as well. "If it's upsetting you so much, why are you having me teach you anyways?"

"I told you, because I want to impress Narukami-senpai."

"So why don't you do something you already know how to do?"

"Because I don't know how to do anything! Unless you expect me to do a song and dance number for him..."

"Well, I'll keep teaching you as long as you like, but I think the best way to impress senpai is to just be yourself."

"Be myself? And this is coming from Kanji Tatsumi?"

"Hey! I'm trying, damn it!" Kanji protested loudly. His eyes went wide at his own volume and Rise giggled at the face he made. Lowering his voice, Kanji continued. "That's the one thing I learned from senpai and I think it's the one thing he'd be most impressed by." Rise considered this for a moment.

"I suppose you're right." she said. "But the only problem is that I dunno who 'myself' is."

"Well...If you really think about it, figuring that out is the best part. You can try new things and see what sticks. So you suck at folding origami. Maybe you can try something else." Rise's eyes lit up.

"You're right!" she said happily. "OK Kanji, show me what you've got! Teach me something else!"

"What!?" Kanji replied, taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm.

"If I'm not an origami folder, let's figure out what I am!" Rise quickly stood and bolted down the hall towards Kanji's room.

"H-hey! Wait!" Kanji called, chasing after her. "Don't go barging into other people's rooms without askin'!" Rise stopped at the door and looked at him.

"What? You got some dirty mags hidden in here that you're worried about me finding?" Rise gave him a mischievous grin as his face turned bright red.

"N-no! O-of course not! N-nothing like that!" Kanji defended. "It's just...rude, ya know?"

"Oh, come on! We're friends, aren't we?" Rise said cheerfully as she stepped inside. She looked around the room and it was pretty much what she expected it would look like. It was somewhat messy with crafty things strewn about, there were a few figurines on shelves in need of dusting, and a large movie poster on one wall with a picture of a dog on it. It was so "Kanji" that she couldn't help but smile. Kanji followed in behind her and sighed.

"I can teach you knitting, sewing, or painting." he told her, giving in. "What do you want to learn?" Rise gave him a wide smile before they both started digging through his room for training books and supplies.

Kanji and Rise feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…


End file.
